Mansfield, the old Nottinghamshire market town north of Nottingham (not its namesakes in Massachusetts or Ohio), treats second-hand books largely as a sideline. In the centre they hide in a comic shop on Toothill Lane and on the back shelves of a Christian bookshop on Newgate Lane, while a bookstall with an exchange service trades from an indoor market hall in neighbouring Sutton-in-Ashfield. All prices given below are in pounds sterling.
The car boots carry the volume: an indoor sale at the Civic Centre on Sunday mornings through the autumn, a Friday field at the Pleasley miners' welfare, just over the Derbyshire line, and a Saturday afternoon crowd at Twin Oaks beside junction 29 of the M1. Further out, two National Trust estates, Hardwick to the west and Clumber Park to the north-north-east, each run a second-hand bookshop filled with donated books, which makes either one an easy pairing with a walk.
Market bookstall with book exchangeEmma & Richard's Book Store
Idlewells Indoor Market, Idlewells Shopping Centre, Sutton-in-Ashfield NG17 1BP
Over in Sutton-in-Ashfield, the Ashfield district town just over 3 miles west-south-west of Mansfield, this stall in the council-run Idlewells Indoor Market is listed in Ashfield District Council's trader directory for both new and second-hand titles, romance to horror, with a book exchange service and racks of puzzle and colouring books. The council's Facebook page gave it a "Meet the trader" video on 28 April 2026, while the stall's own page had posted fresh wordsearch and crossword stock for Easter on 31 March. When the Mansfield and Ashfield Chad photographed the shelves in April 2024, it reported that the couple had opened about a decade earlier and offered exchanges on request.
Hours: Market hours: Mon–Thu 9am–5pm, Fri–Sat 8:30am–5pm; closed Sun and bank holiday MondaysWebsite Comic shop with pre-owned graphic novelsGround Zero Comics
6 Toothill Ln, Mansfield NG18 1NJ
Less than 200 yards north-east of Market Place, this comic specialist mixes new American titles with a pre-owned range of graphic novels and collected volumes that its products page prices from £2, most of them at under half the cover price. Back issues are sold for bulk buyers and gap-fillers, mostly at £1, 50p or four for £1, and an archived copy of that page from June 2026, held by the Wayback Machine, quotes the same prices. Its Substack newsletter of 29 September 2026 rounded up that week's deliveries, Amazing Spider-Man #1000 included, and flagged a missing box of trade paperbacks due the next day.
Hours: Tue–Sat 10am–4pmWebsite Christian bookshop with second-hand shelvesMansfield Christian Book Centre
2 Newgate Ln, Mansfield NG18 2LF
Roughly 600 yards from Market Place, out towards the east-south-east, this independent Christian bookshop, which describes itself as having charitable status, sells Bibles, church supplies, greetings cards and worship CDs, and its About page steers browsers towards a stock of second-hand Christian books, built up by one of the trustees and priced to be affordable. The Wayback Machine holds that page unchanged in captures from May and June 2026, along with an appeal for Christian books that no longer have a place on readers' own shelves. Monday and Saturday are mornings only, and there's a free car park roughly 200 yards away, opposite Newgate Lane primary school.
Hours: Mon 9:30am–1pm, Tue–Fri 9:30am–4pm, Sat 9:30am–1pmWebsite National Trust second-hand bookshopClumber Park Second-hand Bookshop
Information Point, Clumber Park, Worksop S80 3BE
Out in Bassetlaw, about 10 miles north-north-east of Mansfield, the National Trust's Clumber Park sells donated fiction, hobby titles, classics and children's books to raise money for the estate. The Trust's facilities list and its 2026 visual story for visitors place the bookshop at the Information Point opposite the accessible car park, though its shopping page still mentions the Duke's Garage. On 20 August 2026 the park's Facebook page asked visitors for good-quality children's titles, since a busy holiday season had stripped those shelves; donations can be left at the shop, and larger loads arranged by phone on 01909 476592.
Where can I find cheap used books in Mansfield?
In the town centre, Ground Zero Comics starts its pre-owned graphic novels at £2 and lets back issues go at four for £1. Emma & Richard's stall in Sutton's Idlewells market swaps books you bring in against its own stock, and the Christian Book Centre prices its second-hand shelves low. For a bigger rummage, the Friday car boot at Pleasley and the Sunday indoor one at the Civic Centre let buyers in for 50p and £1 respectively.
Where do I sell used books in Mansfield?
Locally, the exchange service at Emma & Richard's Book Store in Sutton comes closest to a trade counter, and a booked pitch at the Pleasley or Civic Centre car boot is another way to move a box. Anything with collector or steady online demand is better listed online, on Vinted, on Amazon.co.uk or through an eBay.co.uk auction, and World of Books' sell-back service will quote on everyday paperbacks. Scan a whole row of spines with BiblioScan first: it returns an estimated resale price for each book in the picture, and the split between copies worth an online listing and those fit for a car boot table becomes obvious.
Which day is best for book hunting in Mansfield?
Friday. The Pleasley car boot opens at 8am, the Idlewells market hall is open from 8:30am, and Ground Zero, the Christian Book Centre and Sue Ryder in Hucknall all keep full-day hours. Saturday runs it close: do the Christian Book Centre in the morning, since it shuts at 1pm, then drive up to the Twin Oaks car boot, where the general public is admitted from noon. On Sundays from 4 October 2026, start at the Civic Centre car boot and finish at Sue Ryder in Hucknall, which opens at 10am; avoid Mondays, when Ground Zero is closed.
Which charity shops have books in Mansfield?
Sue Ryder in Hucknall names books on its own branch page, while the National Trust's bookshops at Hardwick and Clumber Park raise money for their estates from donated stock. The Christian Book Centre, a charity in its own right, keeps second-hand shelves too. John Eastwood Hospice welcomes donated books for its Mansfield and Warsop shops, though its shop list doesn't single out either branch for them.